DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AWARDS $2
MILLION
TO RESOURCE CONSERVATION DISTRICTS
AROUND THE STATE

26 RCDs Receive Grants to Hire Watershed
Coordinators

SACRAMENTO -- The
California Department of Conservation
today announced $2 million in grants
that will allow Resource Conservation
Districts around the state to kick-start
efforts that ultimately can lead to
cleaner water, scenic preservation and
improved natural wildlife habitat.

The pilot grant
program will enable 26 RCDs to hire
watershed coordinators. Generally,
watershed coordinators help assess local
watersheds -- the area drained by a
river or river system -- and help bring
together local government, landowners
and community groups in order to improve
the health of the watersheds.

Thirty grants,
ranging from $94,800 to $37,500, were
awarded. Four districts -- the
Alturas-based Central Modoc RCD, the
Topanga-based RCD of the Santa Monica
Mountains, the Auburn-based Placer
County RCD and the Weaverville-based
Trinity County RCD -- received two
grants.

"There's a real need
throughout the state for the
coordination of efforts at the local
level to improve and protect our
watersheds," Department of Conservation
Director Darryl Young said. "Everyone
lives in a watershed, and the health and
vitality of each one is an important
measure of the quality of life in
California."

Resource Conservation
Districts are locally governed agencies
set up as special districts under
California law with their own locally
appointed or elected boards of
directors. There are 103 RCDs in the
state. In addition to watershed planning
and management, RCDs are authorized to
undertake projects such as agricultural
land conservation, recreational land
restoration, irrigation management,
forest stewardship, wildlife habitat
enhancement and conservation education.

"Resource
Conservation Districts play an important
role in the state's overall land and
water conservation efforts at the
grass-roots level,'' Young said. "RCDs
do a tremendous amount of beneficial
work."

DOC's Division of
Land Resource Protection received 78
applications requesting more than $5
million in funding. A committee
comprised of representatives of state
and federal agencies as well as a
working watershed organization reviewed
the applications. In order to qualify
for a grant, RCDs had to have a 25
percent local match of funding. Tom
Wehri, executive director of the
California Association of Resource
Conservation Districts, was pleased at
the response to the pilot program.

"From our
perspective, it's very encouraging to
see that so many of our RCDs applied,"
he said. "It means that they're willing
to put in the effort, that they have
good ideas and a strong desire to make
changes for the better in their local
watersheds."

The RCDs that
received grants must spend the money by
June 30, 2002. It is uncertain whether
there will be funding earmarked for this
program in the future.

In addition to the
watershed coordinator grants, DOC's
Division of Land Resource Protection
annually makes grants totaling $120,000
for a wide variety of RCD projects. This
year's grants will be announced in
March.

Aside from working
with RCDs and administering agricultural
and open-space land conservation
programs, the Department of Conservation
ensures the reclamation of land used for
mining; promotes beverage container
recycling; regulates oil, gas and
geothermal wells; and studies and maps
earthquakes and other geologic
phenomena. More information about DOC
programs is available online at
www.consrv.ca.gov.

A list of the
Resource Conservation Districts that
received funding, the city in which they
are based and the amount received
follows.